mouldy
/ˈmoʊldi/
"mouldy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mouldy” is uncommon English (frequency #57,572 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #57,572
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Covered with mould.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mouldy · mouldy · English
mouldy · rank #57,572 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #57,572
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH Morrill
Nearest frequency peer: Morrill (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “mouldy”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- mooch
mooch
42,432 corpus weight
- Morrill
Morrill
42,430 corpus weight
- mouldy
mouldy
42,429 corpus weight
- munger
munger
42,428 corpus weight
- Munk
Munk
42,427 corpus weight
- Murph
Murph
42,426 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “mouldy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mouldy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈmoʊldi/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #57,572 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “mouldy” in English
Rare enough to double-check
mouldy is uncommon English at frequency #57,572 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈmoʊldi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
mouldy doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From mould + -y. The correct English form is mouldy, spelled M-O-U-L-D-Y.
Definition
- 1Covered with mould.
- 2Showing signs of neglect; disused.
- 3Worthless; lousy; rotten.
- 4Gray-headed, whether from age or hair powder.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how mouldy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
'Go cuddle up to your mouldy old papers,' she shouted at him. 'See how warm they'll keep you.' She slammed the door and made to walk off.
Let him be great, as e'er he will, / He's rotten at the heart's core still; / Yet counsel from his mouldy pate, / Supports the trembling chair of state, / And scatters with unsparing hand, / A thousand miseries o'er the land; […]
Etymology
From mould + -y.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mouldy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).